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Attractive workplace for all

These 102 cases, dating from 2006-2007, are examples of 'win-win situations', showing that it is possible to combine quality of work and employment with economic performance. They deal with key dimensions of the Lisbon strategy such as employability, increasing the labour market participation of underrepresented groups and people at risk of exclusion, pay, flexibility, and business creation and entrepreneurship. The involvement of the social partners at company and sectoral level is a significant aspect of the development of these policies and their outcomes.

The employer ring in Karlskrona is a joint venture between seven companies – mainly in the manufacturing business – covering a total of 6,000 employees. The ring was established in 1992 and is a joint organisation formed in order to support the members on retraining and redeploying employees in their companies who have been made redundant or are in need of work rehabilitation in other workplaces. The ring supports the individuals with job coaching, transfer and training.

Tesco is the UK’s largest private sector employer. It has been running employee share schemes since 1981 and has continued to adapt these as new opportunities have arisen through government legislation. Tesco now has three share schemes in operation and large numbers of employees are benefiting from the company’s performance, as reflected in a steadily increasing share price.

Pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH has implemented a comprehensive strategy of personnel and organisational development and further training of the workforce in a long-term perspective. The corporate culture and human resource management strategies are driven by the aim to strive for excellence in pharmaceutical innovation. Much significance is attached to internal and external measures of further training. In the Lead and Learn approach, departments play a crucial role in human resource development.

KEMA is a company specialising in technical consultancy, inspection, testing and certification. KEMA has introduced a profit-sharing system, based on the business results of the company, and a system of competence management. KEMA believes that the profit-sharing scheme leads to a greater focus on reducing costs in the company, while the competence management system supports the personal development of its staff and enhances corporate development.

In February 2000, Guastalla hospital set up an organisational improvement project in association with the trade unions representing the healthcare sector. The project focused on redesigning the work organisation and integration of diverse professional profiles around the same working process, improving cooperation and mutual learning, minimising vertical hierarchy and segmentation, improving the quality of care and service and eliminating lead-times and inefficiency.

In 2004, De Gruyter – a German publishing company – introduced a new, voluntary working-time model in its Berlin office: rather than requiring that working hours be recorded, and checked by line managers, the system is based on trust. Employees within sections collectively organise their working hours to ensure continuity of service. Both management and the company works council feel that the new system permits a better work–life balance, while management link it to greater productivity and reduced absenteeism.

Newcastle Building Society is a relatively small financial institution operating in the highly competitive home loans market, where it has to survive among banks and building societies that are many times its size. The company has invested in technical systems that allow it more flexibility in how it deploys its staff. It regards flexible working as a way of boosting productivity while at the same time responding to the demands of its employees.

OKG produces electric energy at its nuclear plant in Oscarshamn. The group supports competence development through a competence assurance system and a local agreement. The employees have regular training for five to 10 days a year. On top of this, they receive support for advanced training (days off and course materials and travel expenses for long-distance training). All this is decided between the employee and the line manager.

In February 2005, the University of Siena and the Italian confederate and autonomous trade union organisations representing education workers signed an agreement aimed at regulating and extending the labour and social rights of temporary employees. The agreement, the first of its kind, provides maternity, sickness and occupational accident coverage and lays down fixed deadlines for the payment of annual earnings.

In July 2004, the Vodafone Group introduced a new share scheme, called Allshares. The Vodafone Group distributes shares free of charge to all full-time staff, including the approximately 10,000 employees who work for Vodafone Italia. In this way, Vodafone rewards its entire staff for their contribution to the Company's future and gives everyone, regardless of their role or status within the organisation, a chance to play a part in its success.